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Abstract
Companies' CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) efforts are often met with consumers' skepticism. Consumers question firms' true motivation behind CSR activities and, in general, do not perceive them to be authentic. In this research, I propose that companies can influence the perceived sacrifice of CSR motivation through pricing of products sold for a good cause with companies' intent to be socially responsible ('CSR products'). In three experiments, I found that pricing of CSR products influenced the perceived sacrifice of CSR motivation. Specifically, when a luxury brand's CSR product was priced at a lower level than (vs at the same level as) other comparable luxury products, consumers with relatively low interest in luxury brands perceived sacrifice of the CSR initiative to be higher than consumers with relatively high interest in luxury brands. Consumers' perceptions that brands set high prices to maintain premium image moderated this effect. Moreover, the positive effect of setting a low price for a CSR product spilled over to the evaluation of company and brand, but this effect was not observed with a non-luxury brand. Finally, I discuss important implications for research on CSR and for a strategy to communicate the authenticity of CSR motivation to consumers.
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Abstract
Companies' CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) efforts are often met with consumers' skepticism. Consumers question firms' true motivation behind CSR activities and, in general, do not perceive them to be authentic. In this research, I propose that companies can influence the perceived sacrifice of CSR motivation through pricing of products sold for a good cause with companies' intent to be socially responsible ('CSR products'). In three experiments, I found that pricing of CSR products influenced the perceived sacrifice of CSR motivation. Specifically, when a luxury brand's CSR product was priced at a lower level than (vs at the same level as) other comparable luxury products, consumers with relatively low interest in luxury brands perceived sacrifice of the CSR initiative to be higher than consumers with relatively high interest in luxury brands. Consumers' perceptions that brands set high prices to maintain premium image moderated this effect. Moreover, the positive effect of setting a low price for a CSR product spilled over to the evaluation of company and brand, but this effect was not observed with a non-luxury brand. Finally, I discuss important implications for research on CSR and for a strategy to communicate the authenticity of CSR motivation to consumers.